There was wifi at center camp last year. Not sure if I'd want to rely on it though. What we did last year was decide on the approximate address ahead of time, with a 2nd and 3rd choice location. We were shooting for the outer rings so plenty of spots out there.

As time draw nigh, I plan to find out what the cell phone provider is. If it's not mine, I will buy one of those throw away cell phones in the proper format and call or text those that will be coming, some from far away. I am usually there early Monday morning.

'Course plans on the playa are subject to failure or change, so my back up will be the general place I plan to camp, with a couple of options. If that fails meet me Monday night at the Booby Bar in Terminal City.

With several square miles of encampment area, a marker on a pole won't be seen until one is practically on top of it.

Tell your late arrivals the general area you'll be camping in...like "we'll be between 4:00 & 4:30 and G & H streets." Then have the person who expects to arrive the earliest post small signs beginning at the 6:00 o'clock split in the entrance road every block or so leading to your actual final camp site.

Attach the signs to stakes on the road side or tack them to the existing street signs.

Don't bore your friends with all your troubles. Tell your enemies instead, for they will delight in hearing about them.

dragonpilot wrote:Attach the signs to stakes on the road side or tack them to the existing street signs.

That idea led to horrible consequences for our group one year.

Part of our group arrived earlier and supposedly secured a spot.
For those of you who don't know, 4:45 and G is almost useless info., as even if you go exactly there and question everyone around that area, chances are not one person knows of your camp, even if they are right next to it.

So, my part of the group arrived, we talked to everyone (don't expect the first part of your group to be at the camp) and no one knew anything. We looked everywhere for the sign they promised would be staked, and saw no sign at all. Also, although we were supposed to have a 100x100 space, I could see nothing like that not already full in that location.

So, we had to set up somewhere else.

Virgins might not know this, but by Sunday, if you want more than about a 20'x20' space, you have to go pretty far away.

So, we leave notes with all neighbors in that area we were supposed to be at, and go out to K or something, and spend 8 hours setting up camp.

Finally, we complete and sit down to have a beer, and here they come:

"Why are you out here? Didn't you see the note?"

"Ok, show me the note"

Yes, they had a post-it sized note that even in daylight with 3 people looking, we couldn't find.
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Point is, forget about cell phones, forget about notes on poles, just go to Center Camp and post a distinctive 8"x10" notice on the board. It wouldn't hurt to type info in the Playa Info computer, either, as a backup.

Yes, there are hundreds of messages, most written on scraps of paper as an afterthought. Go to an art store and get some matt board in day-glow or something and let everyone know what the announcement will look like. Email them a jpeg of what it is. Put lace on the border, or glue on bottle caps, anything to make it stand out.

The last two years I have had a friend who gets in early to work and he finds a place and has called me on the cell phone. It has worked great. As long as you have the right one and before it gets too crowded it may work again. And the only time I intend to use that cell phone is for the above.

This may not be of much help, but what we did back before we had it together (you can check out our camp markers in the photo section at www.barbiedeathcamp.com) was have four Magnovox walkie-talkies with something like 1000 channels. Then make sure you are set on the same frequency (do NOT use 4-20, 1-1, the current date like 8-29 but something really obscure like 8-11 which was our frequency). Have a vague idea where you will be camping and when people will start to arrive. Then monitor the radios on the hour every hour (or even half hour should you be so inclined). Works great on the playa. The radio signals will travel several miles. Better than being lost, believe me.

I know the sign is effective when done right, because I found my camp the first year with no clue about location at all.
They forgot to do playa info, in spite of serious organization.

It did take me three days, but with only the sign and word of mouth, I was directed to the right area, then street and then block.
I finally found the sign.
By that time I was very happy with the strangers I was camped with and didn't move, but I did find them.

Last year, 2010, when I arrived early Wedensday morning, I was looking for a friend from work and his wife. He told me they will be around I and 8:30.
I was driving on K from the entrance toward 8:30. When I got to 8:30, I decided to park my truck and ride my bike in toward I, instead of driving.
But when I got to K and 8:30, lo and behold, I see a Dodge truck that looks like his then I hear his wife yell my name. They decided to camp at 8:30 and K.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3YmMNpbFjp0[/youtube]

My cats are cuter than your grandkids!

"Government is not the solution to our problems, government is the problem." Ronald Reagan